Across the nation, nearly 98% of schools have offered extracurricular activities for their students, but less than half of that 98% have mandated participating in one. In many schools worldwide, extracurriculars have been known to both help and hurt students - they can lead to staying up late making up for lost time, or they can lead to winning awards and even scholarships. Overall, I believe that all students should be required to participate in extracurricular activities... and I think you might just agree.

First of all, mandating that students participate in after school activities could improve kids' work ethic. In fact, a study titled "Extracurriculars and Students" by Professor James Wood at UVA proves this. Wood found that 65% of students who participated in extracurriculars said they enjoyed the additional challenges that were presented to them, and actually continued to work harder and challenge themselves not only in their education, but also in the workforce. This means that teens and kids who entered after school clubs and sports teams worked harder and were able to learn how to overcome obstacles and challenges. This also goes to show how students that entered extracurricular activities did indeed improve their work ethic. In general, I think you'l find that this is important because it shows how adolescents were able to benefit from after school activities.

Secondly, requiring students to join extracurricular activities could help students get into better colleges. Don't believe me? Well, a statement released by Harvard University said that 80% of colleges look for (and accept) students who participated in one or more extracurricular activities. To put it simply, after school activities have been known to assist students in getting into better schools. This relates because it shows how kids and teens who entered after school activities could manage getting into excellent colleges and create a better future for themselves. This matters due to how it shows that extracurriculars can broaden the horizon for students.

But that's not all. It's actually been shown that clubs and teams could improve a students' health. A professional from Johns Hopkins said in an interview, "...Students who participated in activities after school were reported to have a better attitude, more motivation in and outside of school, and possessed an overall healthier lifestyle than their peers who did not join any extracurriculars." In other words, adolescents who joined activities after school tended to be in better condition than those who decided not to participate in any clubs or join any sports teams. This displays how students have been able to thrive and even better themselves thanks to extracurriculars. Overall, I think you'll find this important because it shows how kids and teens can greatly benefit from after school activities.

However, some might argue that students should not be mandated to take part in extracurricular activities, and say that teens may already have a "full plate" and thus become stressed. A statistic from the Teens and Mental Health Welfare Society revealed that 48% of students who participated in after school activities reported an increase in stress levels. To put it differently, close to half of the kids they talked to felt stressed due to their extracurriculars. This also demonstrates how a few students are actually pressured by their after school activities. Ultimately, extracurricular activities may stress students.

While that might be true, there's no denying that after school activities can also teach kids to lessen their stress by learning to budget their time. In fact, I personally was able to learn how to budget my time between school, family, friends, and extracurriculars. While I did have a lot on my plate at first, my extracurriculars like sports, newspaper, and a few of my other hobbies enabled me to learn how to equally set aside time to complete all of my tasks in a timely manner, and still have time to relax. To put it in an alternate way, my after school activities were able to teach me an important skill that I'd be able to use for many years to come. You'll see that this shows that, truly, extracurriculars can teach students how to budget their time effectively. Ultimately, my extracurricular activities taught me an important life skill that could benefit me in many area of my life.

In the end, I think that we should mandate participating in extracurriculars, as it could improve kids' work ethic, assist students in getting into good colleges, and even keep them healthy. Imagine a school with no after school clubs or teams offered to students; kids would be bored, unhappy to go to school with no chance to socialize or get active, and, most importantly, no chance to broaden their horizon and truly reach their full potential.